Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-09-25
A SPANISH PR0VERB.
A SAYING THAT HAS PROVED PROFOUNDLY
TRUE.
An Interesting Wiring on the THE Road Of
Bye and Bye Leads 70 the
House Of Never"

road of Bye and Bye leads to the house Of
Never It is profoundly true. If the
old Jewish custom of writing some sentence
of holy writ on piece of parchment and
wearing it on the forehead, or over the
heart, could be revived the phylactery
should be inscribed with the words Of the
proverb the writer has quoted and put
upon the brow of every youth in the land.
Procrastination is not only the thief Of
time, as the poet had it, but it is the be-
setting folly of the time. 1t is the laziness
of the mind as distinguished from muscular
laziness. Bodily disinclination for exertion
may be the result of physical weakness or
of iucapacity. Bat the putting of until
tomorrow, or the next day, or the next
week, or the next year of things that may
be done to. day is all operation of the will.
AS small children put of their easy tasks
for the violent delights of play, so child
rem of larger growth put of study and all
irksome labor that must be undergone in
the requirement of knowledge, and as they
finally grow older and find they must bring
up the arrears Of past neglect they keep
on in the old habit by falling behind
their immediate duties in all the relations
of life They die in arrears, owing to ser
vice to their friends, to their associates and
to society. Ii they do not also leave be-
hind them unpaid debts of minor and
trust it is generally because they have
l 1nr. f.t, IN MA .Nni d.
it.
If the boys and girls could but be
brought to see and believe what the grand
mothers and grandiathers know by sad
experience there might be salutary
change. If doting parents could be in
duced to insist on the prompt performance
of proper tasks, not so much on account OF
the necessity of the labor rs in order to the
formation of the habit of doing at once
whatever may be proper and possible to
do without delay, what future pain and
might be avoided.
The proverb is true. Bye and bye leads
to the house OF Never. There is absolutely
no such thing rs recovery of lost time and
lost opportunity. What is put aside one
day pushes aside something else the next
day, and so on until the final day is
reached. Every procrastination works an
change in the life of the pro-
crastinatOr. what he should do is con-
tinually carried forward in the book of the |
Angel in order to make room
for what he does do" As no day comes
to any of us that does not bring its full
share of new responsibilities, the to-days
are never adequate for the neglected bust
ness of the yesterdays. Once in debt to
time the debt remains to eternity.
The schoolgirl who does not learn TO
read and write and spell and sew and do
neglecting her opportunities
to acquire such useful knowledge, is fitting
herself for a washer woman if there be no
money to be left to her by her parents.
If they should have money to leave her
she would not know how TO take care
Of it, and would probably be some mans
wife and possibly drudge or
dupe. The school-bOy who neglects his
studies and prefers fishing, baseball aud
inordinate play to the requirements Of ru-
knowledge will not be fit even to
sell tape. He will not make a competent
weaver or blacksmith. He must enter
his chance of doing the rudest work for
the smallest pay. If he should have
eo-spend-ftS, iuuu nc uvuid NC fn great onn'
ger OF degenerating into tramp, or fall
ing into that ever open pathway where,
so 10 speak, a man walks down his own
throat until he brings up in the gutter.
That the writer is putting down the evil
ways of pr0crastinatiOn with black pencil
it is evident. Not every one who procras-
tinates is in danger of perdition. Pro- |
crastination in things proper and necessary
to be done is only spoken Of here. To de- |
liberate upon what is proper to do is the
part of wisdom. To hesitate after the
proper course has been determined in &C
cordance with ones reason and conscience
is the perilous thing which it is particu.
larly desired to warn young people against.
The writer knows of no single thing which
is so threatening TO the future OF
American youth. We have arrived
at that condition of national opulence
when there is no longer a hard necessity
to drive young people forward in the strug'
gle for life. Oar children enjoy permits
sive option to do or not to do which was
not permitted or permissible to the chill
dren of the forefathers. The result Is most
apparent in the half.knowledge and half
helpfulness which is becoming distin-
gushing characteristic Of this generation.
We have too many idlers who need TO be
pushed into industrial aud mental activi-
ties. If they should be allowed to wait
until hunger and nakedness would push
them the fault would be only partly theirs.
Men and women are responsible for the
men and women that come after them.
That "Bye and Bye leads to the house Of
Never" is the proverb and truth that
none of us may with safety ignore.